New 25 Man squad limit... the good, the bad and the ugly

On their way out?? Squad ruling could see a major shake up

Perhaps, the biggest change to this upcoming season compared with the last is the introduction of the FA's 25 Man Squad Rule, now for those of you who have been living under a rock for the last week I've provided a link. And for those who don't know what a link is either, I'm going to talk you through the new rules anyway.

The basic gist of the ruling is that from now on every Premier League team may only register 25 players to play in league games. Of those 25 players only 17 may be foreign, the remaining 8 must be home grown. In order to qualify as home grown, you must either be born in England or have been contracted at an English club for at least 3 years before the age of 21. 

However, players currently under 21 (from the club's academies) may play for the club without being included in the 25 man squad. 

So what does this mean for English clubs? Well, for starters many of the bigger clubs in the league currently have squads much larger than 25 players. This new ruling will mean they will have to cut these squads down to size or run the risk of paying players who are ineligible to play. A good example of such a side is Manchester City, who may under the ruling be forced not to include top class players such as Steven Ireland, De Jong and Bellamy simply because there isn't room to accommodate them in their 25 man squad. 

However, the homegrown rule means English players are protected and not at risk of being offloaded in order to accommodate their international team mates. While some worry the ruling will only encourage big clubs to buy foreign talent at a younger age, it is widely considered as a well thought out compromise that should work well for all parties. In particular, many believe it will save the English national side, as it is hoped that the new ruling will force clubs to further invest in their academy set ups.